Commercial HVAC systems have contained “Fan Powered Terminal Units” (“FPTUs”) for the purpose of providing an outlet for commercial ventilation systems into the rooms of a building or other structure equipped with an HVAC system. A FPTU typically consists of the following components: 1) centrifugal fan, 2) motor, 3) insulated casing, and 4) air inlet (with or without damper).
In commercial HVAC installations, a “silencer” (or “attenuator”) is often attached to the inlet or outlet of an FPTU in order to attenuate the sound produced by the high-velocity air entering the FPTU. Such silencers have typically comprised an air duct (typically from three to five feet in length) that is lined internally with insulation to attenuate the noise produced by the air flowing through the FPTU. Such internal insulation is also known as a “baffle” and is usually held in place by perforated sheet metal. The perforations in the metal allow the air traveling through the silencer to interact with the insulation material contained inside the baffle. The silencer is attached to the inlet or the outlet of the FPTU and acts to attenuate the noise that is produced by the FPTU. This attenuation is achieved due to the conversion of acoustic energy into heat energy as the air molecules inside the silencer create friction when they collide with the lined insulation.
The noise generated by an FPTU can be separated into two components: 1) noise due to the air disturbance created in the immediate vicinity of the rotating fan blades and 2) aerodynamic noise due to the fan-induced air flow that has variable pressure regions within the fan discharge velocity profile and the air flow interaction with geometry changes in the air stream. The insulation contained in silencers minimizes both sources of noise created by the FPTU.
The noise generated by a given FPTU can vary widely depending on how it is utilized in a particular HVAC system and on the configuration of the HVAC system. Similarly, the acoustic performance of a given silencer can also vary widely depending upon the configuration of the HVAC system in which it is installed. Such unpredictability of the noise that will be generated by an FPTU and the attenuation achieved by a silencer is known as the “system effect” of the HVAC system in which the FPTU and silencer are installed. For instance, the manner in which the distribution ductwork is organized in a given building installation can affect the turbulence and air pressures created inside the ductwork. This, in turn, can affect the noise level generated by an FPTU and the acoustic performance achieved by a silencer attached thereto.
The unpredictability produced by such system effects creates uncertainty when HVAC installers are selecting FPTUs and silencers for installation in a building. Manufacturers of traditional FPTUs and silencers typically test their products under artificial laboratory conditions and produce specifications as to the noise generated by their FPTUs and the noise attenuation achieved by their silencers. However, these specifications do not take into account the system effects produced by installing their products in an actual HVAC system. Thus, HVAC installers generally have only marginally reliable product specifications on which they can rely and often must utilize trial-and-error methods to choose the appropriate combination of FPTUs and silencers that will meet their needs in a particular HVAC installation.